A JEWEL IN THE DARK
by Oakenshield
Summary: Legolas remembers why he should not fear the dark. rather fluffy


Disclaimer: Legolas, Khazad-Dûm, Mirkwood, Gandalf, Aragorn, Frodo, Samwise, Merry, Pippin, Boromir and Gimli all belong to Tolkien and I make no claim to them. But Arthalion and Edlothia are mine! All mine!  
  
AN: A row of asterisks indicates flashback.  
  
"A JEWEL IN THE DARK"  
  
It weighed heavily on his chest. It filled his nose, earth and stone; dust; death. It filled his ears, silence so loud that his breath seemed to bounce off the walls and come back to whack him painfully in the eardrums. Gimli lay nearest to him, fast asleep and snoring. He felt as though the sound would be enough to bring the roof crumbling down on his head. The roof was far above him, but he felt as though it was but inches from his face. He felt blind. Even his sharp eyes could not pick out a single image. Just the images that stuck in his mind. Memories.  
  
Memories of how his fear had begun. Memories of a dark cave, many many years ago. A dark disused cave on the east side of Mirkwood.  
  
He had not been afraid of the dark as a very small child. He had liked it. Dark brought glowing stars. And dark brought bugs, which he could gather and scare the maids with. It was on an afternoon in his tenth year when that all changed. He had been out walking with his mother and ran into a cave. She had forbidden him to, but ever eager he had ignored her and gone exploring regardless. He had not taken him long to find out why he should have heeded her warnings, for a large crevice opened near the mouth of the cave, and he had tumbled down into the darkness. The distance was not great, but the sides were wet and slippery and he had not been able to climb back up. His mother had tried to save him, but - headstrong as he - she had attempted to get to him by herself rather than going to fetch help. She had fallen the same way as him but not so gently and her neck had broken as she hit the bottom.  
  
It had been the first time he had seen a dead body and for a long while he didn't realise what was happening. He remembered how her neck had been awkwardly twisted, and how blood ran from a gash on her head. Her eyes had been open, as if in light sleep, and he had tried in vain for longer than he could remember to try to wake her. Then night had fallen and there had been nothing but darkness. No sound except water dripping from the roof, and the occasional bat whizzing overhead. The night had been bitter, and the cave was colder than anything he had ever known. He had huddled to his mother's body to try to keep warm, but she had grown cold so fast. Mother had always been warm, with a soft bosom and ever-open arms, but she had been cold and stiff. And it was then he had realised that she was not going to wake up for him. Or ever again.  
  
The cave had turned suffocating then, as the darkness crushed him and the only sound was his sobbing reverberating off the walls. It had only been one night, he had been found early the next morning, but at the time it had seemed like forever.  
  
He turned in his blankets, fidgeting on the cold stone floor of Khazad-Dûm. It was not cold there, rather the opposite, but the memories gripped his mind, and a sob forced it's way from inside his chest.  
  
"Legolas," a voice whispered at his ear, and a hand touched his shoulder startling him. "Legolas, there is nothing to be afraid of."  
  
****  
  
"There's nothing to be afraid of, Legolas." Arthalion, his eldest brother perched at the edge of his bed, tucking a stuffed bear under the sheets beside him. "Father says I have to turn out your lantern tonight."  
  
"No!" he implored him. Darkness had terrified him ever since that night, though nine weeks had passed.  
  
Arthalion reached across to stroke his hair and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Would you like me to stay until you fall asleep?"  
  
Legolas nodded, reaching for his brother's hand as tears rolled down his cheeks. "I miss Mother so much," he whispered. "It was all my fault."  
  
"No, Legolas!" Arthalion turned his face towards him. "It was an accident. It was not your fault."  
  
His brother's words did nothing to comfort him. He knew if he had obeyed his mother and not gone into the cave then she would still be with him. He remembered his father's face when he had been found and brought home the next morning, with the Queen's body over a horse. He had blurted out what had happened and fallen on his knees before him to beg for forgiveness. It was his sister, Edlothia, but half a century older than himself who had run to embrace him and comfort him. His father had just looked at him and walked away. It would have been easier if he had struck him. At least then he would have known his anger. But Thranduil had not spoken to him since that morning.  
  
"Father thinks it is my fault, doesn't he?" he sniffed.  
  
"I don't care. It was not your fault, and don't you ever think that it is." Arthalion shifted him over and lay under the blankets beside him. "Cuddle up. I'll tell you a story."  
  
Legolas snuggled close against his brother's shoulder, sliding his arm across his chest to twine his fingers in his hair. He knew Arthalion would always be there, whatever happened. He would always be there to take care of him.  
  
"Once upon a time." he began.  
  
"Why do all stories start with 'once upon a time'?" Legolas asked with a frown. "It's boring."  
  
"All right," Arthalion grinned. "Long ago, there lived a little prince in a faraway land. The little prince was very strong and brave, but he had one weakness. He was afraid of the dark."  
  
"Like me!" Legolas piped up. "Is the prince me, Arthalion?"  
  
"If you want him to be, dearest," Arthalion kissed his head. "Now stop interrupting."  
  
Legolas shut his mouth with a snap.  
  
"The little prince was afraid of the dark. He would not sleep without the light of candles, and his family worried greatly about him. The prince himself was bothered by his fear, for he got teased about it. He wished and wished that something could happen to make it all go away. One night, when everyone was in bed, the prince woke up to find he was all alone and the candles in his room had burned out. He called out, but no one came to him. So, he lay in bed - very afraid - and cried and cried, until he looked out of his window and saw the stars and the moon. Though it was dark outside, they were casting a light, so he slipped from his bed, put on his robe and snuck outside. He looked up at the moon and wished again, out loud, that he could be cured of his fear.  
  
Suddenly, the moon seemed to shine brighter, until it nearly blinded him, but as the light dimmed again he saw a tall old man standing before him, robed all in white. The prince was scared at first, but the old man took his hand and asked him his troubles. The prince told him of his fear, and the old man pondered about it for a few moments.  
  
'I am a great wizard,' he told the little prince. 'I do not normally appear so easily to little princes, but I see your need is great. 'Tis why you called me.'  
  
'I did not call you,' the prince said, confused. He wondered if he was still dreaming.  
  
'Ah, but you did," the wizard said. 'Your soul called me. Now I can grant you your wish, but first I must set you a task.'  
  
The prince did not like the sound of being set any tasks, and he frowned.  
  
'Do not frown like that until you have heard what I want you to do,' the wizard told him.  
  
So, the prince sat beside him on the floor and waited to hear what the wizard had to say.  
  
'In order for me to rid you of your fear,' he said, 'you must search for a bright jewel in a dark place.'  
  
Now, the little prince was very troubled by this, for he didn't want to go searching anywhere dark.  
  
'Can't you just cure me by magic?' he asked.  
  
The wizard laughed. 'No I cannot,' he replied. 'I will not cure you just like that. Why should I do it for nothing?' "  
  
"That wasn't very nice of him!" Legolas cried.  
  
"I haven't finished yet. Now hush," Arthalion scolded lightly. "You've spoiled my thread now Legolas."  
  
"The wizard said he couldn't do it for nothing," he told him, tossing the stuffed bear aside to cuddle up closer to Arthalion.  
  
"Ah, yes," Arthalion continued, lifting him to lie in his lap. " 'Why should I do it for nothing?' he asked. And like you, the little prince thought it was very unfair, and stormed back inside the palace without a word. When he woke the next morning, he thought over what the wizard had said to him. He wondered if had been a dream, but it seemed very real to his memory. He had to find a bright jewel in a dark place for his fear to be cured. He dreaded searching in dark places, and could not think why he would find a bright jewel in any of them. But he thought that it would be worth it in the end if he would be cured. So for the next week he looked in cupboards, and wardrobes, under beds, in attics, in cellars but he could not find the jewel. He grew very annoyed."  
  
"So would I!" Legolas cried, giving a sheepish smile and lowering his head as Arthalion shot him an annoyed look. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I'll be quiet."  
  
Arthalion sighed through a fond smile. "The little prince grew very annoyed and frustrated - and I can certainly sympathise with him."  
  
"I'll be quiet!" Legolas insisted. "Finish the story, Arthalion. I want to know how the prince got on!"  
  
Arthalion grinned at him. "The little prince grew very annoyed and frustrated as the days went by. He forced himself to search in all the dark places he knew, going into deeper and darker places in hope of finding the jewel, out in the gardens at night, and in caves, but still he could not find it. One night, he went into the gardens and the old man appeared to him again. The little prince was angry with him, for he thought he had tricked him. But the wizard sat down and laughed long and loud until tears rolled down his cheeks. The little prince thought he had gone cracked.  
  
'I have found no jewel!' he stamped his foot in temper. But the wizard just laughed louder, eventually composing himself to speak. 'But you have,' he said.  
  
'I have not!' the prince insisted, growing even more furious, jumping up and down until his face turned purple."  
  
Legolas giggled. "That would have been a sight!"  
  
" 'You have made me search in all the dark places that I am afraid of and I have found nothing!' cried the little prince. 'You lied to me!'  
  
'No, I did not,' the wizard said. 'You are cured. I did not make you to go in dark places. I told you that you would find a bright jewel in a dark place.'  
  
'It's the same thing!' the prince argued. 'You have not cured me, you pretender!'  
  
'Where did you search?' the wizard wanted to know, still smiling. So the prince told him. 'Cupboards, under my bed, in the cellar, in the garden at night with no stars, in a great big cave.'  
  
'And you went into them without fear,' the wizard said. 'The bright jewel I spoke of was in your heart, little prince, and your heart was the dark place. But you did not see that. You looked in actual dark places. I knew you would be afraid but I knew you would be determined, and you were. Can you not see, you have overcome your fear all by yourself without even realising it, and with no magic.'  
  
And then the little prince understood. There was a bright jewel in his soul, and his fear was the darkness. But now he had faced his fears, the darkness in his heart was gone and he could feel the light shining. He turned to hug the wizard, but he had gone.  
  
The next night, the little prince went to bed and his maid came to light his candles but he told her not to.  
  
'But you will be afraid, little prince,' she said.  
  
'I will not,' he told her and sent her from the room.  
  
That night he slept with no candles, and the moon shone through his window all night. He had never noticed how pretty the moonlight was before, for the candlelight had always drowned it. He was nervous as the light grew dimmer, but he was surprised to find he was not afraid at all. His fears had indeed been cured. Darkness could never bother him anymore, for he knew that he was stronger than it, and it could not hurt him. Only his own imagination could, and he decided he was not going to let it anymore.' " Arthalion, lifted Legolas from his arms and laid him back against the pillows. "And that, my dearest, is The End."  
  
"The wizard was very clever, then," Legolas said with a yawn, suddenly feeling very tired.  
  
"He was," Arthalion agreed, reaching to pick the bear up off the floor. "Here, have him back. He'll take care of you."  
  
Legolas took the bear back and put it beside his pillow. "And what happened to the little prince after?"  
  
"Oh, the little prince grew up to be a big prince," Arthalion told him. "A great warrior, actually, whose name went down in history and was sung about in songs for centuries."  
  
"And was he ever afraid of the dark again?"  
  
"He had to face great darkness at times in his life, yes," Arthalion said, "and he was troubled, but he remembered the wizard's words and each time he searched for the light in his heart and held on to it. And he was not afraid ever again." He stood up out of the bed and tucked the covers tightly around Legolas. "Now sleep."  
  
"Does it really work though?" Legolas asked him as he stood. "It's just a story. Will that really work? Do I have a light in my heart?"  
  
"We all do, Legolas," Arthalion said. "It's different things to different folk. My light is my wife. And it was the same for Father, that is why he seems so angry at the moment. See if you can find what yours is." He winked and kissed him. "I'm blowing the candles out, Legolas. Tell me in the morning if you've found it."  
  
****  
  
The light that night had been the memory of his mother when she had been alive. He had remembered her dancing in the sunlight. But tonight, in the darkness of Khazad-Dûm it was different. There were lots of lights: the hobbits - Sam with his fierce loyalty shone with red fire, Frodo's bravery and humility shone blue, Merry and Pippin shone yellow with their positiveness and ever-ready jests. Gandalf shone white with power. Boromir and Gimli shone dimmer, and he felt they would need him soon.  
  
And Aragorn shone the brightest. Though he could not see him in the dark, he could feel his hand running gently through his hair and his breath against his cheek as he whispered comfort into his ear. Aragorn knew of his fears and would comfort him all through the night if he had to, depriving himself of sleep. Aragorn was like that. Faithful and constant.  
  
"Legolas, are you all right?" he asked, shifting nearer to him.  
  
"Yes," Legolas whispered, turning over to lie close to him. "I am fine. There is nothing here that can frighten me."  
  
~END~ 


End file.
